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Preparation of bioplastic film from gadung starch (discoreahipida) and

chitosan plasticized with glycerol
To cite this article: M Hasan et al 2020 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1567 032100

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6th International Conference on Mathematics, Science, and Education (ICMSE 2019) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1567 (2020) 032100 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1567/3/032100

Preparation of bioplastic film from gadung starch

(discoreahipida) and chitosan plasticized with glycerol

M Hasan*, D Afdal and M Nazar

Department of Chemical Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and

Education,Universitas Syiah Kuala, Darussalam Banda Aceh 23111

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract. Bioplastic film based on gadung starch (Discoreahispida) and chitosan plasticized
by glycerol were prepared through solvent casting method. The aim of the study was to
determine the effect of starch and chitosan composition on both mechanical properties and
lyophobicity of the films. The results indicated that incorporating the chitosan in the starch
matrix induced structural modification due to interaction between hydroxyl functional group
and amino group of the starch and chitosan. The films produced in this research exhibit smooth
surface, homogeneous and both porosity and cracks were not occurred which was evidenced by
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) data. The findings also revealed that adding more chitosan
in the starch matrix have significantly enhance tensile strength of the film while reduce the
extension at break. Films with more chitosan absorbed more water compared to less chitosan
film.

1. Introduction
The use of synthetic plastics as packaging materials, stationery, pipes, household appliances, and
children's toys is increasing [1] due to low cost compared to metal-based materials thus waste from
plastic increase significantly. Commercial plastics are not microbially decomposed in the soil.
Therefore, the problem caused by plastic waste is globally very worrying. The amount of plastic waste
produced annually in Indonesia is around 5.4 tons which is the 2nd higher of domestic waste
production. Based on Indonesia's domestic waste data, the amount of plastic waste constitutes 14% of
the total waste production in Indonesia as reported by the Indonesia Solid Waste Association. Based
on data from the Jakarta Regional Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD), the waste generated
in Jakarta is over 6000 tons per day and 13% of the waste is plastic waste. The problem caused plastic
waste has become not only a national problem but also a global concern. Environmental researchers
revealed that pollution of plastic waste in the ocean had reached 269,000 tons according to expedition
data presented by researcher group who had traveled the world for six years. The synthetic plastic
pollutes the environment severely due to microorganism incapability of degrading and decomposing,
thus plastic decomposition takes hundreds of years to be completed [2].
Development of biodegradable plastic thus become very urgent and crucial in order to overcome
the problem of plastic waste [3]. Biodegradable plastics are prepared from renewable sources or
organic compounds obtained from plant parts such as cellulose [4], protein [5], and starch [6]. Starch
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6th International Conference on Mathematics, Science, and Education (ICMSE 2019) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1567 (2020) 032100 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1567/3/032100

can be the ultimate choice because of its abundant source, it can be obtained from carbohydrate rich
biomass like rice, corn, sago, and sweet potatoes. Starch consists of amylose and amylopectin. The
amylose is a straight-chain polymer while amylopectin is a polymer with branched chains. The ratio of
amylose to amylopectin in starch determines the properties of the film formed. Native starch has low
thermomechanical properties [7-9]. However various studies have been carried out to improve the
properties of starch, including combination with synthetic polymers [10]. In this way, the plastic
produced can improve thermomechanical properties although low in biodegradability [11]. Blending
starch with various natural polymers is more promising and attracts many researchers because not only
being able to improve the thermomechanical properties of starch it also maintains the biodegradability
characteristics of polymers [12].
One of the most interesting natural polymers that has been widely studied by many researchers is
chitosan. The polymer is a deacetylation product of chitin and is ubiquitous and second most abundant
polymer in nature after cellulose. In addition, chitosan has a good film forming capacity, excellent
biocompatibility and proven as antimicrobial active compound [13]. Various publications on the
addition of chitosan to the film matrix from starch have been reported such as corn [14], potatoes [15],
wheat [16], cassava [17], pumpkin [18]. In this article we report the characteristics of films prepared
by combining poisonous tuber starch (gadung starch) and chitosan plasticized by glycerin. Poisonous
gadung is rarely used by the people of Aceh, usually consumed as additional food after cyanide
removal. Based on literature search, until now there are no publications reported the plastic films made
from gadung starch and chitosan.

2. Methods

2.1. Materials and Equipment

The equipment used in this research are analytical scales, magnetic stirrers, hot plates, tensile testing
devices (computer type universal testing machines) and multimode Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).
While The materials used in this study were chitosan, starch from gadung (gadung poisonous tuber),
glycerol, ethanol, hydrochloric acid pH 5, sodium hydroxide pH 10, and acetic acid.

2.2. Experiments

2.2.1 Preparation of gadung Starch. Preparation of gadung starch was carried out by a modified
procedure. Gadung was obtained from the city of Lhokseumawe, North Aceh. The tubers had been
traditionally processed by the community and the poison has been removed. The gadungwas mashed
into starch powder with mortal, then sifted with 180 mesh sieves until the white powder of Gadung
starch was obtained.

2.2.2 Film preparation. Plastic films were prepared by solvent casting method referred to Abdul
Khalil [19], weighed chitosan, gadung starch and glycerol with a predetermined varied mass (Table 1).
Chitosan was dissolved in 5% solution of acetic acid and was continuously stirred with a magnetic
stirrer until completely dissolved, the starch wasthen added to the acetic acid solution and was stirred
until completely dissolved. Both solutions were subsequently mixed in a beaker and 15% glycerol was
added. After the sample begins to form a gel, the sample was poured into a mold and dried on a
hotplate at a temperature of 75oC until all the solvents evaporate and the biodegradable plastic were
obtained.

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6th International Conference on Mathematics, Science, and Education (ICMSE 2019) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1567 (2020) 032100 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1567/3/032100

Table 1. Experimental Design

Chitosan/Starch Weight of Weight of

chitosan (g) starch (g)
0:100 0,0 2,0
25:75 0,5 1,5
50:50 1,0 1,0
75:25 1,5 0,5
100:0 2,0 0,0

2.2.3 Solvent uptake test. This test referred the method performed by Hermawan, et al [20]. The film
was cut to the size of 1.0 cm x 1.0 cm, weighed with an analytical balance, and put into a 50 ml
beaker filled with 5 ml of the solvent, the film was then sterilized at room temperature. The film was
simultaneously taken every minute, and the solvent remained on the film surface was gently wiped
with a tissue, and then weighed. The absorption capacity of the solvent then was calculated using the
following formula:

𝑊−𝑊0
Solvent uptake = x 100%
𝑊0

where: W0 = weight of initial sample while W = weight of final sample, after immersion in the solvent

2.2.4 Tensile test. The films were cut in certain shapes (dumbbells) with a length of 4 cm, width of 4
mm and the moisture content of the samples was measured (Table 4.2). Tool parameters were kept
with a tensile speed of 50 mm / minute with a maximum load of 10 kgf. Samples were clamped on a
tensile test apparatus. The tool was run according to the conditions that have been determined until the
sample is cut off and the above procedure was repeated for each sample 4 times the tensile test.

2.2.5 AFM Study. A multimode Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) was used to examine the porosity of
the films. Mode of tapping with a constant tip oscillation, and topography of the sample were
recorded. To obtain image of topographic, the amplitude ratio of the free tip in intermittent contact
with the material was set to 90% (light tapping).

3. Results and Discussion

3.1 Bioplastic film

The obtained film is depicted by Figure 1. Based on visual observations, the film produced is
transparent, and there is no color difference with the increase in the percentage of both starch and
chitosan.

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6th International Conference on Mathematics, Science, and Education (ICMSE 2019) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1567 (2020) 032100 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1567/3/032100

Figure 1. Transparent film bioplastic from gadung starch and chitosan.

3.2 Water solvent uptake test

Lyophobicity test was carried out by weighing the mass of bioplastics before and after dipping in
various solvents. This study used four different solvents including water, ethanol, hydrochloride acid
and sodium hydroxide. This procedure carried out in ten repetitions until a constant absorption data
was obtained. The result of the test is displayed in Table 2.

Table 2. Water solvent uptake data

Chitosan/Gadung Film Solvent uptake in various solvent (%)

Starch Water Ethanol HCl (pH = 5) NaOH (pH = 10)
0/100 21.81 0.03 28.18 25.20
25/75 41.62 0.01 47.01 43.39
50/50 32.63 0.19 30.72 39.78
75/25 54.06 0.02 53.36 53.24
100/0 65.51 0.01 54.59 60.13

Based on Table 2, the highest lyophobicity was found to be in ethanol, while the lowest film
lyophobicity was showed by water. This findings revealed that the lyophobicity is influenced by the
bonds of hydrogen where starch and chitosan having OH groups that bind water molecules. The
presence of hydrogen bonds increases the interaction between film and solvent [21-22].

3.3 Tensile Properties

Tensile testing is very important to examine the maximum load that can be held by plastic. Ultimate
strength is the maximum strength of the material that holds the maximum stress given at a constant
withdrawal rate until the specimen breaks, while extension is the increase in the length of the
specimen after being drawn with a certain load with a constant drawing rate. Table 3displayed the
results of bioplastic tensile test from gadung starch, chitosan, and glycerol with various ratios of
chitosan and starch.

Table 3. Mechanical properties of film

Chitosan/Starch Tensile Strength Elongation (%)
(MPa)
0:100 61,29 79,78
25:75 67,62 69.90
50:50 72,94 59.02
75:25 59,36 50.74
100:0 118,26 33.92

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6th International Conference on Mathematics, Science, and Education (ICMSE 2019) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1567 (2020) 032100 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1567/3/032100

Based on table 3 it is clear that the tensile strength of film bioplastics is obtained at the chitosan
content of 100%. While the optimum percentage elongation arises from the sample without chitosan.
This result is in line with the publication reported by Akter [23] where the higher the content of
chitosan in a polymer mixture the greater the value of the tensile strength of the film will be. This
improvement was contributed by the presence of protonated amine groups in the chitosan molecular
chain backbone. The cluster causes hydrogen bonds with other polymer chains such as starch. The
high flexibility of film is influenced by the interaction of amylose molecules from starch and chitosan
since the interaction of amylose and chitosan molecules is easier to occur than amylopectin [24].

3.4 AFM Study

AFM can be used to study the surface topology of bioplastic films. In addition to study the surface
topography of solids at high resolutions, this tool can also be used to measure force versus distance
curves. The resulting curves are called force curves, which provide valuable information about the
specific properties of materials having pores and valleys on the surface of bioplastics films. AFM
measurement of the film bioplastic is shown in figure 2/

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 2. Topography of film surface of chitosan/gadung starch 50/50 (a) film surface topography (b)
film topography displayed the height of surface (c) force curve

4. Conclusion
Bioplastic films from gadung starch and chitosan are transparent and have a flat surface. The more
gadung starch content the greater the percentage of bioplastic lyophobicity to various solvents, except
for ethanol. The greater the chitosan content in the matrix, the greater the tensile strength of films in
spite of decrease in the elongation of bioplastic films.

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6th International Conference on Mathematics, Science, and Education (ICMSE 2019) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1567 (2020) 032100 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1567/3/032100

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